I completely understood. After Austin had died, I’d busied myself with the restaurant. Football was Evan’s release. “If you feel like you’re ready next week, I’ll fully support you. I just don’t want you to hurt yourself further. You still have to heal.”
Evan set his glass down and reached for my hand. I took it and he pulled me over to his chair so I could sit on his lap. “I’ll be fine, Summer. I’m not going to do anything stupid. I want to be there for the team.”
I kissed him gently. “I know you do, and you will be very soon. It’s not so bad hanging out with me, is it?”
He chuckled. “No, but I know you have responsibilities other than babysitting me. The restaurant isn’t going to run itself.”
Carefully, I hopped out of his lap and sat back down in my chair. “That’s why I have a partner and a sister who can manage while I’m gone. They understand.” Before I could dig into my sandwich, my phone rang. “Hello?” I answered.
“Summer, it’s Jason Avery. How are you?”
“As good as can be expected. You?”
“Fine for the moment. I have some news for you. I tried to call Evan, but I couldn’t get through.”
“He shut his phone off because it wouldn’t stop ringing. Is everything okay? Did you find out anything?” Evan perked up and sat forward in his chair.
“I don’t have any news about the accident, but I did find out something about Milner that brought up some red flags.” I put the phone on speaker so Evan could hear, too.
“Tell us. I have you on speakerphone so Evan can hear.”
“Good, that way I only have to say it once. After what happened with Levi, I did a little bit of researching. As far as the accident, I don’t see how he could’ve done it since he hasn’t left Arizona. However, that doesn’t rule out the possibility that he had something to do with it. But here is where things get a little weird. Apparently, Milner recently accepted a large amount of money from a bank overseas. It was wired to his account about three weeks ago.”
“So what are you saying?” Evan asked.
“I’m saying that I think he might have been paid off to fuck with you. You’ve never had issues with him before, and you have no ties to him. I can’t think of anything else.”
“How long will it take you to find out where the money came from?” I questioned.
He sighed. “I’m on it, but it could take a couple of weeks to break through. There’s so much to investigate with the accident.”
Evan huffed and sat back in his chair. “We understand. Just keep us posted.”
“Will do. We’ll get it figured out, I promise.” We said our goodbyes and hung up the phone.
Sitting back in my chair, I looked over at Evan. “Who the hell would pay that kind of money to see you get hurt?”
He shrugged. “Fuck if I know. But whoever it is, they don’t want to just hurt me….They want me dead.”
ONE WEEK LATER
Derek had been released from the hospital three days ago. By the time his family got there to take him home, he’d snuck out undetected. No one had heard from him since. He had disappeared without a trace. Evan had tried to find him, with no luck; he vowed not to give up searching for him. He was also determined to get his own life back on track. In two days, he was going to be right back on the field. Unfortunately, we had a hard task ahead of us. Brianna’s funeral was today, and afterward everyone was going to get together at the tavern for dinner. We all just hoped Derek would come out of hiding and show up. Brianna’s family had put the funeral on hold for as long as they could until Derek was released from the hospital. They knew their daughter would have wanted him there.
Evan finished his coffee and kissed my head. He’d healed quickly from the crash and had only a few light-colored bruises left over. “I’m going to take a quick shower so we can head to the funeral.”
Grabbing his hand, I pulled him to me. “Do you think Derek will show?”
He looked away. “I don’t know. I’m just ready for the police to find out who the fuck’s responsible.”
“They will, don’t worry. I have faith in them.”
He shook his head. “It’s been over a week and they still don’t know. Derek’s not going to rest until they find out who it was.”
We stood there in silence, but I understood completely. I could only imagine how distraught I’d still be if the police hadn’t found my husband’s murderers. It hurt to keep it together in front of Evan, knowing that all I wanted to do was cry. The last funeral I’d been to was Austin’s. And now we were burying a friend and her unborn child.
Clearing my throat, I sucked back my tears and smiled. “Why don’t you go take your shower? I think I’m going to get some fresh air.”
I was afraid he’d sense the breakdown that was about to ensue, but he nodded and disappeared down the hall. As soon as I heard the shower water turn on, I walked outside and shut the door. A text came through on my phone, and I knew who it was going to be. Philip had been checking up on me every single day.
Are you okay?
Instead of texting him back, I called. He answered on the first ring. “I’m assuming you have more to say than a simple yes?”